[629] Matt. xiii. 23; Luke viii. 15. [630] 2 Tim. ii. 20. [631] Eph. iv. 2, 3. [632] 1 Cor. iii. 17. [633] 2 Tim. ii. 20. In _Retract._ ii. 18, Augustine says that he thinks the meaning of this last passage to be, not as Cyprian took it, _Ep._ liv. sec. 2, that the vessels of gold and silver are the good, which are to honour; the vessels of wood and earth the wicked, which are to dishonour: but that the material of the vessels refers to the outward appearance of the several members of the Church, and that in each class some will be found to honour, and some to dishonour. This interpretation he derives from Tychonius. [634] 1 John ii. 19. [635] 1 Cor. xiii. 2. [636] 1 John ii. 19. [637] Phil. iii. 15. [638] Gal. v. 19-21. THE THREE BOOKS OF AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO, IN ANSWER TO THE LETTERS OF PETILIAN, THE DONATIST, BISHOP OF CIRTA. BOOK FIRST. WRITTEN IN THE FORM OF A LETTER ADDRESSED TO THE CATHOLICS, IN WHICH THE FIRST PORTION OF THE LETTER WHICH PETILIAN HAD WRITTEN TO HIS ADHERENTS IS EXAMINED AND REFUTED. _Augustine, to the well-beloved brethren that belong to the care of our diocese, greeting in the Lord._ CHAP. I.--1. Ye know that we have often wished to bring forward into open notoriety, and to confute, not so much from our own arguments as from theirs, the sacrilegious error of the Donatist heretics; whence it came to pass that we wrote letters even to some of their leaders,--not indeed for purposes of communion with them, for of that they had already in times past rendered themselves unworthy by dissenting from the Church; nor yet in terms of reproach, but of a conciliatory character, with the view that, having discussed the question with us which caused them to break off from the holy communion of the whole world, they might, on consideration of the truth, be willing to be corrected, and might not defend the headstrong perversity of their predecessors with a yet more foolish obstinacy, but might be reunited to the Catholic stock, so as to bring forth the fruits of charity. But as it is written, "I am for peace, but when I speak they are for war,"[639] so they rejected my letters, just as they hate the very name of peace, in whose interests they were written. Now, however, as I was in the church of Constantina, Absentius being present, with my colleague Fortunatus, his bishop, the brethren brought before my notice a letter, which they said that a bishop of the said schism had addressed to his presbyters, as was set forth in the superscription of the letter itself. When I had read it, I was so amazed to find that in his very first words he cut away the very roots of the whole claims of his party to communion, that I was unwilling to believe that it could be the letter of a man who, if fame speaks truly, is especially conspicuous among them for learning and eloquence. But some of those who were present when I read it, being acquainted with the